Colonia Nova
Colonia Nova is an administrative region of an over-arching government in SL, called Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS), currently comprising Colonia Nova, Neufreistadt and Alpine Meadow. The Colonia Nova sim is modelled after a northern, planned Roman city from the time when the Roman Empire had reached its height in nearly every measurable sense: "a Roma of the North". The land is mainly used as residential and commercial space, and some of it is for shared public use. Among often quoted benefits of this remarkable feature of self-governance (through citizen participation) is that not only the 'chaos' of the mainland is absent but also that citizens can influence nearly every aspect of the sim's administration. Self-governance Besides the popular Roman theme, Colonia Nova is also part of a multi-sim democratic government, run by the citizens themselves. Because the government is 'all-encompassing', and SL itself is almost unlimited too, it is difficult to give a short summary of all the things that this comes down to in the sim itself. The main article about the government of Colonia Nova can be found here (e.g. it shows how citizens elect their representatives or participate in government), but below is a list to give an impression of the wide variety of topics that comes into play in a sim that's run in this way: * Government itself ** Who does what to get things done, and making sure no one has unlimited power (checks and balances) ** Having simple rules, laws, a constitution and even the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ** Conflicts or unacceptable behaviour and resolving it in a fair way * Encouraging creativity, engagement and activity for cool sims (!) * Businesses, how to encourage them and keep it customer friendly too * The philosophical ** Simplicity V. management in detail (keep it fun, don't overintellectualize V. if you do it, do it really good) ** RL expertise for certain jobs V. maximizing SL participation History (Ed. note: This is a stub: A really short version of CDS/Neufreistadt history would be in order, followed by some real Colonia Nova history.) Highlights in the life of Colonia Nova were the election results party in the Roman baths (January 2007), several well attended lectures/meetings in the CRAEDO auditorium in early 2007, the art exhibits at the Utarid & Springvale law offices in the first half of 2007 and the numerous primtionary nights in the amphitheatre. Culture, Arts and Education The Amphitheatre The amphitheatre was built by Brian Livingston during the construction of the sim. Like many public buildings, it can be used for people's own parties or celebrations, as long as the Chancellor (see CDS page, 'Executive Branch') agrees. The amphitheatre has been used for live music, an election debate, a gladiator fight and many primtionary games. Noteworthy places Shops, businesses and offices Emporium Romani launched on June 21st, 2007 its first collection of clothing, ranging from togas to businesswear. The Thermae (Roman baths) The Roman baths, built by Antonius Camus, consist like the real thing, of several baths with different temperatures and functions. The main bath also has animations that allow you to relax even more, splash some water or simply dream away. The thermae were the location where the January 2007 election results were celebrated in style: While the politicians and guests were enjoying champagne and bathing at the same time, the elections official (in his monkey avatar) announced the results. Historical dates *Historical dates of 'sister sim' Neufreistadt **July 31 2004 Haney Linden launches project for communities wishing to preserve the snow sims **September 12 2004 Proposal Approved **September 20 2004 Land in Anzere **November 14 2004 Provisional Government **January 15-16 2005 First Elections **January 30 2005 First RA Meeting **April 21 2005 Private sim online **August 7 2005 Guild Master Kendra Bancroft calls Guild general strike **June 18 2006 Name Change to Neufreistadt *October 15 2006 Second Sim, Colonia Nova, opens *November 22 2007 Third Sim, Alpine Meadow, online External References *Official Site of the CDS, Colonia Nova and other sims *Official Forums of the CDS, Colonia Nova and other sims *Official Blog of Colonia Nova (only with news of its development) *Wiki of the CDS including Colonia Nova (with legislation, transcripts of meetings, etc) *Snapzilla page with pictures of Colonia Nova under construction, credits: Brian Livingston. *Photos from the CDS sims *Blog article: Some thoughts on why governments in SL are so hard to implement *Blog article: SL's most hated project Category:Confederation of Democratic Simulators Category: Sims Bold text